30 



early evening; they poise on swiftly vibrating wings, like Humming- 

 birds, and suck the nectar from tubular flowers with their long, slender 

 tongue, which coils up beneath the head like a watch-spring when not in 

 use. The name Sphinx is derived from the attitude often assumed by 

 the caterpillars, which hold up their head and front segments so as to 

 present a fanciful resemblance to the mysterious Egyptian Sphinx. 



The other species affecting the vine, the Achemon and the Abbot 

 Sphinx, and the White-lined and Dark-veined Deilephilas, are very simi- 

 lar in their habits and their caterpillars feed in the same way. Being 

 large and voracious, they sometimes entirely strip a branch of its leaves 

 They are kept in check by their parasitic enemies and seldom, therefore, 

 appear in large numbers. As their presence can be detected by the de- 

 nuded branches, or their large black or brown castings on the ground 

 beneath, they can easily be got rid of by hand-picking. It is only on 

 young vines that they are likely to prove very injurious ; the foliage ol 

 .he older ones is so luxurious that the loss of leaves in this way is hardly 

 appreciable. 



Fig. 44.— Wood-nymph Moth. 



Fig. 45. — Wood-nymph, e and /eggs; 

 a caterpillar. 



The Wood Nymph Caterpillars (Eudryas grata and unio), Fig-s. 

 44> 45- Occasionally the grape-vine is found to be severely attacked by 

 scattered caterpillars of a bluish color. On close inspection they are 

 found to be very prettily marked, each sep-ment having an orange band 

 crossing it in the middle and half a dozen black cross lines on the pur- 

 plish-blue ground color; the segment behind the head and one near the 

 tail are more conspicuously decorated with orange. The adult moths are 

 very beautiful, with fore wings creamy white, broadly bordered with 

 chocolate and olive-green, and the hind wings yellow with a narrow brown 

 border ; when at rest the densely scaled front legs are stretched out con- 

 spicuously and the wings folded together in roof-shape over the body. 

 As soon as the caterpillars are observed they may be treated with Paris 

 green. Though present on the vines every year, it is only once in five 

 or six years that they are numerous enough to demand attention. 



Grape-Vine Leaf=Rollers and other Caterpillars. A number of 

 caterpillars of other kinds of moths feed also upon the leaves of the 

 grape. As a general rule they are not particularly injurious, but thoy 

 are liable at times to become so numerous as to demand attention. 



The Grape-Vine Leaf-Roller (Dejmia maculalis) is nearly always 

 to be found on the vine and may be discovered by the leaves rolled up 'n 



